Support Irish farmers against EU's "green" power grab

Petition

 

Support Irish farmers against EU's "green" power grab

Support Irish farmers against EU's "green" power grab

05,000
  2,109
 
2,109 have signed. Let's get to 5,000!
CitizenGOstarted this petition toIrish TDs and Senators - 02/01/2024

PETITION UPDATE (2/2/24)

Farmers across Ireland have staged widespread demonstrations in solidarity with fellow European farmers.

Now is a key moment to show our SUPPORT of the Irish farming community by signing and sharing this petition against an EU policy which will, by design, rewet productive farmlands and peatleads and violate private property rights.

The protests, which spread out to every county save for Carlow due to a road incident, saw convoys of tractors disrupting local traffic as farmers made their grievances known.

And, these protests echo the broader discontent among farmers about the current and potential future impacts of EU policies, like the Nature Restoration Act, which is seen as a significant threat to their way of life.

Additionally, farmers face the over-regulation and administrative obligations of an ever-growing EU bureaucracy.

This farmers' protest demonstrates that there is growing agitation regarding how EU policies are being implemented in farming communities in Ireland and across Europe.

So, let's STAND WITH OUR FARMERS by signing this petition against the EU's so-called "Green Power Grab" which is embodied in the the EU's Nature Restoration Act.

Thank you for SIGNING and SHARING this petition, today!

__________________________________________________________________________________

Irish farmers - their livelihoods and their communities - are under serious threat from the EU's Nature Restoration Act, which just passed in the European Parliament.

Unbelievably, the legally-binding requirements in the Act could take active peatland, farmland, and fisheries out of production AND trample on private property rights in order to achieve the arbitrary climate and nature goals it sets forth.

Now is the time to stand in solidarity with Irish farmers!

Now is the time to stand against this type of "green" power grab from the EU!

Now is the time for the Dáil to find comprehensive solutions to nature restoration and farm production viability, rather than put farming communities, as well as our food and energy security, at risk!

Please SIGN and SHARE this petition, to all Members of the Oireachtas, telling them to adapt these new regulations to the special Irish situation, and put Irish farmers and farming communities BEFORE these new EU regs.

We must now firmly and loudly oppose these poorly-conceived, one-size-fits-all EU regulations in Dáil Éireann, which, in their current form, aim to return a large part of the lands and waters within the EU to the same condition they were in 73 years ago, in 1950.

In Ireland, that would mean taking productive farmland out of production and forcibly "rewetting" substantial swathes of peatland and farmland, roughly 400,000 ha by 2050, with the bulk of it to happen before 2030. (*Please see the 'For More Information' section, below) 

But, unlike similar past programs, like the Set-Aside program where farmers voluntarily set-aside 4% of their land to return to nature, in exchange for state/EU subsidies, this program doesn't yet propose a voluntary way to participate, nor does it offer a similar promise of any grant money.

So, while the farmers won't exactly have their land taken from them under this scheme, their land could be rezoned or "rewetted" and taken out of production against their will.

Please stand in solidarity with Irish farmers and fishermen by SIGNING and SHARING this petition, and tell your TDs and Senators to devise better solutions than rewetting productive farmlands and peatleads by violating the sanctity of the right to private property.

If destroying productive land sounds crazy, that's because, for generations, we were told that wetlands should be reclaimed for agricultural purposes, and especially as a national resource for Bord na Móna.

Of course, there were sound reasons for that: food and energy self-sufficiency.

And, taking into account what's going on in the world today, we can see that they still are sound reasons.

Especially now, when food and energy inflation are sky-high and food security is in jeopardy (war in Ukraine), all countries should be seeking to become more energy-independent and more agriculturally productive, not less.

Please SIGN and SHARE this crucial campaign, today.

But, there is even more at stake that food and energy security; there is also the little matter of the EU trampling over our right to private property, and to dispose of our property how we see fit.

Nevertheless, the Irish Green Party are claiming that this is a victory, and the Green Party Leader, Eamon Ryan, even boasted that the Irish MEPs "swung the vote" in the European Parliament.

But, this is no victory. Rather, this is a slap in the face to Irish farming and fishing communities, to the Irish consumer, and to all those who care about private property rights!

Thank you for SIGNING and SHARING this crucial petition today, we need to make our voices heard now in Dáil Éireann!

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Here is the passage from the Act which sets forth its arbitrary goals:
 
"For organic soils in agricultural use constituting drained peatlands, Member States shall put in place restoration measures. Those measures shall be in place on at least:(a)30 % of such areas by 2030, of which at least a quarter shall be rewetted;(b)50 % of such areas by 2040, of which at least half shall be rewetted;(c)70 % of such areas by 2050, of which at least half shall be rewetted.Member States may put in place restoration measures, including rewetting, in areas of peat extraction sites and count those areas as contributing to achieving the respective targets referred to in the first subparagraph, points (a), (b) and (c).In addition, Member States may put in place restoration measures to rewet organic soils that constitute drained peatlands under land uses other than agricultural use and peat extraction and count those rewetted areas as contributing, up to a maximum of 20%, to the achievement of the targets referred to in the first subparagraph, points (a), (b) and (c)."
 
Note that areas of peat extraction are some of the hardest hit, ensuring that Ireland will suffer disproportionately to other EU countries owing to the fact that much of Irish countryside is made up of productive peatlands which also border productive farmlands.
 
The Act also goes on to state:
"This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States."
 
Independent TD, Michael Collins said in Dail Eireann before the vote in the European Parliament:
"The law, if implemented, includes legally binding targets that will have detrimental impacts on farmlands and the livelihoods of Irish farmers. The version of the EU nature restoration law approved by the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan, and other EU Council members sets stringent and unrealistic targets for Ireland, requiring the rewetting of at least 246,968 ha by 2030, followed by 66,580 ha by 2040, and an astonishing 83,225 ha by 2050. To put this into perspective, these targets would encompass an area nearly the combined size of Dublin, Limerick, Galway and Waterford cities by 2030, and by 2050 an area equivalent to the entire agricultural lands of County Leitrim would be affected."
05,000
  2,109
 
2,109 have signed. Let's get to 5,000!

Complete your signature

Sign this petition now!

 
Please enter your email
Please enter your first name
Please enter your last name
Please enter your country
Please enter your zip code
Please select an option:
We process your information in accordance with our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service

Put Irish farmers and their communities ahead of EU's "green" power grab

Irish farmers - their livelihoods and their communities - are under serious threat from the EU's Nature Restoration Act, which just passed in the European Parliament.

We, the undersigned, firmly oppose these poorly-conceived, one-size-fits-all EU regulations and call on Dáil Éireann to find comprehensive solutions to nature restoration and farm production viability, rather than putting farming communities, as well as our food and energy security, at risk.

In their current form, these new regs aim to return a large part of the lands and waters within the EU to the same condition they were in 73 years ago, in 1950.

In Ireland, that would mean taking productive farmland out of production and forcibly "rewetting" substantial swathes of peatland and farmland, roughly 400,000 ha by 2050, with the bulk of it to happen before 2030.

But, unlike similar past programs, this program doesn't yet propose a voluntary way to participate, nor does it offer a similar promise of any grant money.

For generations, we were told that wetlands should be reclaimed for agricultural purposes, and especially as a national resource for Bord na Móna.

Of course, there were sound reasons for that: food and energy self-sufficiency.

But, there is even more at stake that food and energy security; there is also the little matter of the EU trampling over private property rights.

If Ireland accepts this "green" power grab now, there's no telling how many more fundamental rights the EU will be emboldened to trample on in the name of the green agenda.

This Act is a slap in the face to Irish farming and fishing communities, to the Irish consumer, and to all of us who care about private property rights!

We now encourage you to adapt these regs for Ireland's special circumstances, and find comprehensive solutions to nature restoration and farm production viability, rather than putting farming communities, as well as our food and energy security, at risk.

[Your Name]

Put Irish farmers and their communities ahead of EU's "green" power grab

Irish farmers - their livelihoods and their communities - are under serious threat from the EU's Nature Restoration Act, which just passed in the European Parliament.

We, the undersigned, firmly oppose these poorly-conceived, one-size-fits-all EU regulations and call on Dáil Éireann to find comprehensive solutions to nature restoration and farm production viability, rather than putting farming communities, as well as our food and energy security, at risk.

In their current form, these new regs aim to return a large part of the lands and waters within the EU to the same condition they were in 73 years ago, in 1950.

In Ireland, that would mean taking productive farmland out of production and forcibly "rewetting" substantial swathes of peatland and farmland, roughly 400,000 ha by 2050, with the bulk of it to happen before 2030.

But, unlike similar past programs, this program doesn't yet propose a voluntary way to participate, nor does it offer a similar promise of any grant money.

For generations, we were told that wetlands should be reclaimed for agricultural purposes, and especially as a national resource for Bord na Móna.

Of course, there were sound reasons for that: food and energy self-sufficiency.

But, there is even more at stake that food and energy security; there is also the little matter of the EU trampling over private property rights.

If Ireland accepts this "green" power grab now, there's no telling how many more fundamental rights the EU will be emboldened to trample on in the name of the green agenda.

This Act is a slap in the face to Irish farming and fishing communities, to the Irish consumer, and to all of us who care about private property rights!

We now encourage you to adapt these regs for Ireland's special circumstances, and find comprehensive solutions to nature restoration and farm production viability, rather than putting farming communities, as well as our food and energy security, at risk.

[Your Name]